Monday, October 26, 2009

I would happily fill this space with a tribute to the late Theodore Sizer, but a colleague has written one that cannot be surpassed insofar as it says all the things that I think most need saying about our fallen comrade and leader. So check out "Losing Another Lion" by Jonathan Martin. The rest of the 21K12 blog is pretty great, as well.

What I will say about Ted Sizer is that his work on school reform came along just as many of us seemed to be ready to enter into a comfortable if perhaps a little lackluster academic middle age. The Horace books shook us up, and the Coalition gave us a set of ideals to which we might aspire. Later writing, such as The Students Are Watching and The Red Pencil, inspired even the least reflective among us to ponder our work deeply and powerfully. Along the way we discovered the complementary genius of Nancy Faust Sizer, Ted's estimable spouse and collaborator.

We will miss Ted Sizer, but thankfully his legacy will live on for generations of schoolchildren yet unborn.

1 comment:

His writings shook me up, made me think about what was really best for students and whether or not I was actually bringing that about, and helped lay the groundwork for the strong progressive program I'm proud and happy to work in today. I will miss his voice, but I also feel that his legacy lives on.

Who is PG?

Schools--independent schools, especially--are always on my mind. I grew up in one, graduated from one, and I've been working in them for thirty-some years.

I am really excited by the changes that are taking place everywhere in the world of education, and yet I like to keep focused on the idea the experiences of students rather than the enthusiasms of teachers are at the center of what we do. I believe in the power and the obligation of schools and teachers to shape character as well as to feed curiosity.

Schooling, education, call it what you will and carry it out how and where you will, is a deeply human activity, and for all the ways in which the schools we are creating will not be Your Father's (or my father's) School, that core humanity will never change.

If I might be able to help your school or speak to your faculty, check my websiteor contact me directly.

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